Across the Wires
by chataclysmnoire
Summary: In which a late-night radio station DJ'ed by Nino turns into a place to belong, and to find love. "Caller, you're on the air. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself I can use to identify you with before you rate me. We're gonna operate on codenames. I just decided that." Cross posted on AO3.
1. Chapter 1

When entering his final year of school for radio communication, Nino Lahiffe was very prepared to undertake the largest, most involved project under his wing and crush it. The grade would be perfect, he would pass and immediately graduate with four job offers that would increasingly offer him more money with their want for his music mixing talents, and his life would be set. But, as with most things, life does not always work as we envision in our heads.

"Babe, I have to, like, do talk radio. I don't wanna talk. I just wanna play music and then have everyone love me," Nino bemoaned to his longtime girlfriend and budding- yet, already notorious- journalist. Alya rolled her eyes, and through her glasses it only seemed to amplify her annoyance.

"Nino, you should've read the class description better. Even I knew you were going to have to make a talk show. But, it sounds like fun!"

He shrugged. "I mean, it's nothing prestigious. I'll have to run the student station on week nights. Why I got the latest shift, nobody knows..." He took off his cap and rubbed a hand over his hair as he trailed off, glancing sheepishly in the direction of Alya's chuckling.

"You fell asleep in class again and missed the sign up, didn't you?" she teased. She was met with a silent pause, which only made her laugh harder. Her laughter was contagious, and soon after Nino was laughing just as loud. Once he calmed himself down and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, he spoke. "Maybe. But regardless. The talk show that gets the most listeners and the most callers earns the highest grade, and usually gets a job with one of the local stations really quickly. And if I want to have any kind of career in music, which I do, I need to be the best!"

Alya reached out a comforting hand. "I'm sure you will be. But how can I help?"

"At this point? I have no idea. Apparently, my first shift is tonight. I'm not stressing. I think my hairline has receded six inches and my extremities haven't stopped shaking, but it's fine. It's totally fine. But, I also have to get going. Got another class in five minutes across the campus." Nino quickly pecked her cheek, and began sprinting. "Love you!"

Shaking her head fondly, Alya shrugged her messenger bag over her head and began walking in the opposite direction, pulling out her phone to send a quick text.

Marinette turned off the lights in the studio, and hugged her bag closer to her. The walk out to her car was brief, but it never failed to feel like an eternity at the end of a long day. Reaching in her purse for her keys, she unlocked her car and quickly got in. After turning it on, she checked her phone. Alya had texted her and told her to turn Nino's first broadcast on the university's student station. It started at 8 p.m. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard. 7:58 p.m. And with two minutes to spare, she turned the dial and began to drive home. After her long day, she needed time with her friends, and this was as close as she was going to get if she planned to eat, shower, and sleep at a semi-normal hour.

"Hey, whaddup there, peeps! I'm your host for this evening, every evening. The name's Nino- you can call me DJ Nino, or if you're my girlfriend, DJ Bubbler. That one's a bit of an inside joke, but we're all going to be friends here, so you might hear it one day."

Marinette laughed. The "inside joke" was that, on their first date, Nino had taken Alya to the park, where she had then dared him to drink the bubble soap. He had somehow managed to breathe it up his nose, and was spewing bubbles out of his mouth and nostrils after one particularly nasty burp. Apparently, it was hilarious.

"-and I'm gonna be honest with you guys, I have no idea how this whole 'talk radio' thing is supposed to go. I think I throw out a topic and you guys call and talk to me? We'll work out a system for the Nino Power Hour later. Also, that title is subject to change. I thought of it five minutes before I went on air, and I'm not married to it. So, I think subject number one will be how am I doing? Call in and let me know. Or if you just want to chat."

Well, Marinette was nothing if not a great friend. So, despite her long day, she decided to call in to Nino's station. The DJ was relieved someone called. He was not prepared to already be a failure. But, he also did not know how to correctly operate the radio board. "Okay, I see a blinking light on the board. Bear with me as I switch to our first caller. Caller, you're on the air. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself I can use to identify you with before you rate me. We're gonna operate on codenames. I just decided that."

"Hi there, Nino! Um, I really love ladybugs, because they're a sign of good luck. So, you can call me Ladybug. And I think you're doing great!" A smile was brought to the DJ's face. After Alya, Marinette was the second most important lady in his life, and at that moment he was eternally grateful to recognize her high, feminine voice through his headphones. He would have to play a Jagged Stone song just for her as thanks.

"Dudette, Ladybug, thanks for the rating. Anything I can do for you on this fine Monday night?"

Marinette sighed into the phone. What she really wanted was a long bubble bath, a home cooked meal she didn't have to cook herself, and a glass of wine, and she expressed that desire over the radio to her friend. They joked for a few moments, until Nino began receiving another caller. Marinette hung up, and she was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment when she about gave herself a concussion. On the radio following her call, was the most attractive male voice she had ever heard, introducing himself as the black cat lover Chat Noir and saying incredibly kind things about Nino's first broadcast, making some dumb joke about how it was "rad-io."

And hearing that voice, Marinette vowed she would be listening to every broadcast of Nino's, just to hear the voice of that black cat. After he hung up, Marinette grabbed her things and sprinted into her apartment building. Unlocking her door quickly, and nearly tripping over the orange tabby at her feet, she fumbled around for her old CD player that would be able to get the student station playing.

Throughout the rest of Nino's broadcast, he was called by a few different folks who he kept coming up with codenames for: a bossy woman, a soft-spoken teen, a monotone girl, and a man who sounded like a jerk, respectively known as Queen Bee, Illustrator, Rose, and the very pompous Cupid. Their voices kept Marinette company as she went through her night, eventually lulling her to sleep.

Chapter Management

Chapte


	2. Chapter 2

Nino Lahiffe was the best friend anyone could ever ask for. He was understanding and caring, always ready with a joke or a hug when needed. So, when he asked Adrien to listen to his radio broadcast, the blond would do anything to accommodate his request.

Adrien Agreste- part time model, part time physics student teacher- was a man who hardly had time for anything. He got up every morning at 4:30, in order to exercise, shower, and eat before going in to lecture his students. After his school day was over, he immediately went to a photoshoot of his father's designs or for various ad campaigns, oftentimes lasting well into the night. And who could blame his father for wanting Adrien to represent the line? There was no question about it. Adrien was aesthetically pleasing to the eye- tall, blond, green eyes, well maintained physique, charming smile.

It's not as if Adrien minded the work, though it did make student teaching a tad uncomfortable, what with all of his young students mooning over him all the time. The staring, Adrien could live with. He was used to it, even. The crushes, evident by blushing and stammering, he could not.

On this very uncharacteristic, but greatly appreciated night off from the photo shoots, Adrien was more than pleased to listen in to Nino's radio show.

The two met in a history class, on their first day of college. Adrien was a new student, and Nino was a class ambassador. After being asked to show Adrien around the school in lieu of sitting through a lesson, Nino confesses that he only agreed because he wanted to get out of work. The candor in his statement had made Adrien laugh, and it was hard to find them apart ever since, much to the chagrin of their professors.

Plugging his headphones into his phone, and switching to the radio on his phone, Adrien tuned into Nino's station. Hearing his best friend's voice through the radio made Adrien smile.

Nino had been on the station for about a week, and it was...interesting. He definitely kept the listeners on their toes, always spinning a new remix of a song or asking some truly bizarre questions. Adrien honestly wasn't sure that there could be so many different opinions to answer "What's your favorite type of mango?" But he was very wrong.

The mango debate lasted for a good 45 minutes on only his third night, ranging between four of his callers. Adrien was not ashamed to admit he was one of those four. He had strong opinions on mangoes, okay? Or, well, the Chat Noir side of his personality did. He selfishly enjoyed Nino's show for a few other reasons.

The first reason was that, when he called in, he was no longer Adrien Agreste: Famous Supermodel, Paris' Fashion Prince with the personality of wet cardboard; he was Chat Noir: Lover of Puns and Nino's most loved, loyal caller. At least, that's what Nino said. When Adrien was moonlighting under his fake identity on the radio, he could act like himself, and he didn't have to worry about what tabloids would print. And, he could do it all from the comfort of his own home while wearing sweats. If that wasn't a good enough reason to play pretend, Adrien couldn't think of anything better.

But the other reason he selfishly enjoyed Nino's Nightly Nineties (title from day five, when he only played music from the 1990s) was the sense of community. Being as busy as he was, Adrien didn't really have time to make friends. And when he managed to spark a connection, it usually came out in the wash that they were using him for his money or connections. But Chat Noir had made at least three in the course of a week, and nobody could have known it was him to use him. He was ever grateful for Nino's random codename idea.

There was the brassy and brazen Queen Bee; she seemed like she was high society, but she could be funny in a dry way. There was the quiet Illustrator; he always called in to complain about his painter's block, and refused to allow the bee girl's negativity be the only voice Nino heard. The guy who called himself Cupid always made Adrien laugh, because he said some truly stupid things every now and then, but he could tell the man had a good heart. There was the monotone Rose, who always tried to get Nino to listen to a new emo band or song, but somehow always seemed to mumble the titles until Nino stopped asking "what?" and just played something he hoped was enough for her. And, well...there was Ladybug.

Adrien didn't have words for her. She was always so...cute. At least, he thought her voice sounded cute. She had only called in twice so far, but he had high hopes she'd call in every night. The first time she called was on the first night, and she sounded supportive and kind, but she didn't stay on the line for long. The second time she called in, she talked Nino's ear off for a good 13 minutes, espousing about how the Ivory mango was obviously much more superior than the Alphonso mango, and whoever this "Chat Noir" was that had the wrong opinion on mangoes, she would love to meet him and flick the nose off of him and his "beautiful-voice sounding face."

She hadn't called in since the mango night. Nino swears he meant well when he offered to set her up with him so they could meet and she could flick him in his beautiful face, but after an awkwardly long silence punctuated by stammers about how she didn't mean to call him beautiful because how could she, she doesn't even know him and anyone who likes the wrong kind of fruit obviously isn't that beautiful, she hung up.

Adrien supposed he didn't help the situation much when he called back in, and over-dramatically declared that his heart was ripped out of his chest because he lost his one true love over a mango debate, and Nino joined in to pun, "The poor Ladybug just let her man-go." Which sent them into peals of laughter, and caused Queen Bee to call in and ask them to "shut your loud cackling up, because some people don't like hearing your crow-like laughter when they're trying to relax."

It was a little odd, but it was fun. And Adrien deserved it. Not that he didn't get enough of Nino as it was on the weekends- sharing an apartment kind of worked that way- but he was usually with his girlfriend, and Adrien missed bro time. He had yet to meet this girlfriend because, as Nino put it, "I don't want to subject you to that much crazy right away. She's intense. Also I think I'm in love. But she would terrify you." Which led Adrien to believe she might be a Russian pro-wrestler or possibly an assassin; he couldn't decide which theory he enjoyed more.

Nino's current topic on the air for tonight was about least favorite months of the year. Oddly enough, Cupid seemed to detest February, while Rose professed her sheer hatred for the month of July.

"Listen, all I am saying is that it's too hot. I am very pale. I get sunburned. And I don't like heat. Or being outside. Or, people, really."

Nino's laugh echoed through Adrien's headphones. "So, you're, like, a vampire but without the bloodsucking?"

"Yep," came the straightforward reply, followed quickly by a, "Okay. Bye."

Adrien smiled. Then he minimized his radio app and began dialing. After the dial tone, he heard a click, and then a familiar voice saying, "Caller, you're on the air."


	3. Chapter 3

"All I'm saying is that, like, he passed my desk. And he looked me in the eye. And smiled at me. And do you know what I did?"

"I'm guessing it wasn't giving him your number?"

"HA! Funny joke. I tried to say hi and instead let out this weird low whine sound."

"Oh, my gosh, girl. I'm sorry...but that's hilarious! Were you foaming at the mouth, too?"

"I can't help it! He's too pretty to be real."

"Sounds like it. He's turning you into a real animal."

Marinette huffed while Alya cackled through the phone's speakers.

"Als, this is serious. I want to be the mother of his children based on his jawline alone, and I can't say one word to him. He's completely unapproachable without even trying."

"To be fair, he is a supermodel. And your boss's son. He's bound to be either so conventionally attractive it hurts, or to be so awkward-looking that you can't look away. You should know this from all of the America's Next Top Model I made you watch two years ago. Don't you remember the summer binge? The Tyra?"

"How could I forget?" Marinette glanced up at the clock. "Shoot, I've gotta go. Lunch is almost over. I just needed to vent."

"Alright, girl! Talk to you later! And if you see Adrien again, try not to growl at him!"

Marinette scowled at the phone as she hung up the call and left the cafeteria at Gabriel to head back to her desk. She was better than this! She was a grown woman, who could absolutely, 100% handle conversations with beautiful people. It was basically a job feature, so she had to be used-

"Hi! You must be new here. I'm Adrien."

To say her jaw hit the floor was an understatement. It hit the floor, and continued to fall down three more floors until it cracked a hole in the cement foundation of the building. Standing in front of Marinette with a broad smile and a hand proffered for a handshake was none other than Adrien Agreste. As in, son of the boss, international supermodel, and object of her wildest fantasies of the last half hour. He stood staring at her, a slight crease to his brows increasing the longer she stood without action.

"Oh! Yes, hi! Of course you're Adrien. Your face is everywhere here, and what a beautiful face it is. I mean- um- what I meant was that- you...you're...a good model? Because you're so pretty? I mean I meant to say handsome but you are also pretty and oh my gosh I'm rambling so much-" she stammered out, saved only by her own hand slapping over her mouth while her freckled cheeks quickly pinked.

Adrien's smile widened, but he tucked his hands in his pockets and ducked his head. "Thank you for the compliment. What's your name? You missed that little detail."

"Ah! Yes, I completely forgot to introduce myself, ha ha. My name's Marinette. It's nice to meet you."

"Well, I'll see you around, Marinette. Nice meeting you!" he said with a wave as he walked towards the elevators.

As soon as he got in and the doors closed, Marinette looked around her to make sure the coast was clear before dropping to the floor and covering her cheeks with her hands. Hearing her name come out of his mouth had reduced her to a pile of goo, and she was honestly okay with that.

Nino was smug. In the course of only a few weeks, he finally managed to learn how to have two callers on the air at the same time. Nobody even had to show him how to use the boards to make it happen. He was just a tech genius.

Or...well...he was dating one. And she had been the one to show him. But nobody else knew about her assistance and he was keeping it that way.

It made for interesting radio, that was for sure. Queen Bee And Rose had some of the most entertaining arguments ever since he figured out the board. The Queen loved getting so many words in, and would try and rile the other girl up. But, being a woman of very few words, Rose would respond very simply, which would irritate Queen Bee and entertain Nino for long periods of time listening to her huffing.

But, the most entertaining off all, was when Ladybug and Chat Noir were on the air together. Nino knew both people personally, and he had been trying for months to get them to meet. But they always said they didn't have the time, what with school and photoshoots for Adrien, and long hours at her internship for Marinette.

Listening to the two of them was hilarious, but frustratingly so. Adrien loves to play a verbal game of cat and mouse with her- or, rather, Chat and Ladybug game. Their conversations usually went something like this:

 **Chat: Purr-lease, you have cat to be kitten me right meow! You would love to get your mitts on me because you know we'd be friends in real life. Maybe even a couple, because I'm so irresistible.**

 _Ladybug: On the contrary, kitty. I'm not sure how anyone could find someone who makes that many cheesy jokes attractive._

 **Chat: If it's cheese jokes you want, my lady, I'm going to be honest. I don't have dairy many of them, and they're not very Gouda. I know you won't Brie-lieve me, though.**

 _Ladybug: I sincerely hope your face makes up for the words coming out of your mouth._

 **Chat: Wouldn't you like to know? Spoiler alert: it does.**

Nino: Uh. Guys. Can I have my show back? People want to hear music, not your weirdly tense flirting all night.

 _Ladybug: Don't worry, Nino. This bug is out for the night. Maybe that kitty can find someone else to sink his claws into._

 **Chat: I'd rather sink my claws into you-**

Nino: OH LOOK THE MUSIC IS JUST PLAYING OVER YOUR TALKING WHILE I TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO KICK BOTH OF YOU OFF THE CALL LINE OKAY BYE!

Yeah. Things usually happened that way. But it was always entertaining. He just needed them to get together so they could stop monopolizing his air time. He was the one getting a grade and possibly a job from it.

But, maybe if the cat and the bug got together, Nino could add matchmaker to his resumé.


	4. Chapter 4

Finding yourself in a state of extreme panic is not uncommon when you're a procrastinator. When you're not procrastinating and actually accomplishing things, you feel pride. What you don't feel is existential dread and looming failure.

Nino wished he hadn't procrastinated.

The student radio station puts on a carnival and a concert every year, and each radio host is tasked with helping to organize it, create their own posters for it, as well as bring in an act. While he had been more than helpful in class, sharing ideas and brainstorming with his other classmates, he had been lackluster in his own preparations. He didn't have a poster design created, and he sure as hell didn't have an act yet.

Which brings him to his current state, of trying to unstick two of his fingers held to the sound board with superglue. In the process, he somehow managed to knock over a tube of glitter onto the floor of the recording studio. He groaned as he watched the small flecks seep into the dark blue carpet, silently thanking the fact that he chose to play a six-minute song so he would have exactly 4 minutes and 17 more seconds to solve his problems. Nino picked up his phone with his free hand, and dialed a number.

Alya's phone started ringing as she was scrolling through her news apps, popping up a very unflattering photo of Nino as he was sneezing as the contact. Snorting in amusement at how the photo really never lost its charm, she answered. "What's up, babe?"

"Uh...quick question, how do you get super glue to unstick?"

She brought her free hand up to her face, to squeeze the bridge of her nose. "Nino...what were you even doing with super glue?"

"It was for the poster project. I figured I could just work on it while I was here, but I've now, uh, spilled glitter all over the floor and my hand is stuck to the soundboard," he rushed out.

He was met with the sound of silence for a brief moment, and then he heard his girlfriend start rustling around. "I'll be there in ten. Try not to glue yourself to anything else."  
_

Ten minutes was too long. After deciding to share his rather unfortunate incident with his listeners and putting on a few songs so as to not have to take any calls about how dumb he was from Queen Bee (which was a frequent occurrence) his knight in shining plaid arrived with a bottle of nail polish remover and paper towels in hand.

"Heyyyyyy," he said, grinning sheepishly while waving with his free hand.

She marched over to the soundboard and immediately got to work, grumbling under her breath about how she doesn't know why she even puts up with him and how ridiculous he is. Within a few short minutes, the acetone in the nail polish had made it possible for his hand to come free. Nino almost wept for joy.

"Babe, I love you and for the next twenty-four hours to show my appreciation I will buy all of your meals."

Alya smiled. No matter how ridiculous Nino could be or how much his antics reminded her of her little sisters, she really did love him. He made her feel content. Safe, even. He felt like home.

She quirked her head teasingly, "While that is a good offer, I demand more payment. Let me sit in as a special guest host on your show for the rest of the night. I think a certain bug and cat could use an intervention. An Alya-vention, if you will."

Nino shook his head. "No way. Don't intervene! It's funny how thick the romantic tension is over the air. I don't need it to turn into awkward tension."

"Listen, I want Marinette to be happy. You do, too. And even though you won't let me meet your best friend who's verbally romancing her every night of the week, or even tell me his name, I think they'd be good for each other. Why won't you let me meddle?"

"Because meddling-Alya is troublemarker-Alya. Let the girl have her peace for a little while longer. I think if they met, her head might actually explode. But I'm not saying anything else. Crap, the song's about over. Go put that pair of headphones on if you're gonna be my assistant for the night."

As the last sounds of Jagged Stone's guitar led off, Nino turned his microphone back on. "Jagged Stone, always a favorite of mine and everyone else who has good taste in rock legends. Well, my girlfriend came and bailed me out. Nail polish remover. Who knew, right? Anyway, in repayment, she's guest hosting for the rest of the night on the Ni-T: Extraterrestrial Night."

Alya's judgemental laughter filled the speakers of everyone listening in. "I am so sorry about that name. That one was all him. He's got a thing for Spielberg movies."

"Who doesn't?" came the indignant reply.

"Not everyone has the same movie taste as you, you know."

"And they're wrong."

"Whatever you say. So, let me fill you in, as Nino's savior and ultimate-awesome-lady. The glue? Was for a poster project. Care to explain to your lovely listeners and I how you got yourself stuck and why you were making a poster to begin with?"

He went on to account how he was making the poster for his class to advertise the concert that the radio station holds after term is over, to celebrate all their hard work but to also teach them how to recruit acts for things in the future.

"And, well, I kinda forgot to recruit an act. Anyone know where I can get one on short notice? I'm supposed to submit it tomorrow. Along with the poster. Which I still haven't finished."

The phone line started lighting up, and Alya patched the caller through. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hi. Um, it's me, the Illustrator. I was just going to say...did you need help with the art? Once you get an act I can make you a poster really fast. I _am_ going to art school and am pretty good at graphic design. It's even my name here. Also, why didn't you just make a poster online?"

Nino sat in stunned silence. "Man… I didn't even think about that. But yeah, I would absolutely love your art expertise. If you wanna hang around for a little while, we might find an act. I'm sure someone who listens has a garage band or knows a garage band who could play. Just send an email with the file to ni-no-ni-maybe-ni-yes on GMail. Don't judge the username. I thought it was cool. And it seems like we're getting another caller, so let's see what they have to say."

"Hey, yeah, you've got an act now. You can thank me later."

"Aww, Queenie Bee, don't tell me you're volunteering?"

"Ugh, of course not. Why would I want to be onstage in front of a bunch of radio-listening basement dwelling nerds?"

"...you do realize you're listening to the radio right now, right?"

"Anyway, you have Jagged Stone. And no, this isn't a prank. I don't care enough about you to prank you. He owed me a favor anyway."

Alya and Nino stared at each other across the desk, slack-jawed.

"This is the part where you say you're welcome, you know."

"Wow, that was super nice of you. Thanks, Bee."

"Whatever. Bye!"

The radio went silent for a second. And then Nino breathed out. "Holy crap, did we just get Jagged Stone to come play for our carnival?"

Alya nodded. "Well, Q.B. did. But that's still pretty cool. And it didn't sound like she was doing favors like that for anyone else. So! End-of-term concert. Jagged Stone. Who all's gonna be there? I can't wait to meet everyone."

There were calls coming in quickly. Cupid saying he was excited for Jagged, Rose saying she would bring her girlfriend because she would love that sort of thing, Gamer excited to have a social activity to leave the house for, and Timebreaker was only invested to see if the Ladybug and Cat boy were gonna hook up. That comment found Nino and Alya howling with laughter, tears pouring out of their eyes as Alya crowed, "Man, I sure hope so!" into the mic.

Marinette smiled at the antics of her two best friends on the radio. She was happy that Alya was having a good time. As she bounced around cleaning up her kitchen, she stuck her head into the fridge to put the eggs away.

When she reemerged, she could hear nothing but loud laughter and Alya saying, "Man, I sure hope so!" She was kind of upset about whatever she missed because she could've used the laugh, but she would just ask tomorrow. She reached a hand towards the dial to turn the radio down, but then she heard the unmistakably smooth voice.

"Yeah, Nino. I'm really excited. I'll be there. Jagged Stone is my favorite artist," which made her smile.

As much as she was at odds with this stranger sometimes, she still felt like they could be good friends. Even with all the incessant flirting he did. It was exhausting, yeah, but it was also kind of charming. It wasn't rude or suggestive. It was just funny. The playful kind of banter they had was about as close as Marinette had gotten to any semblance of a relationship in almost two years, which was kind of sad. Well, unless you counted the small conversations she would have with Adrien Agreste when he walked by her desk at work. But her shyness at his overall beautiful-ness really put a damper on anything serious happening, when simple things like a "Hey, how are you?" turn into a "How, hey are you?" in her mouth. As Ladybug, with this Chat Noir boy, she could let loose a little. No expectations, no faces. It made things like harmless flirting a little easier. And it seemed like they had a lot in common. She really should focus on what he's saying.

"But," he trailed off, hesitation in his voice, "I actually called to ask someone else a question. Ladybug, if you're out there listening...would you like to be my date to the concert?"

Marinette was thankful she lived alone. Her mystery boy just asked her on a date. She screamed.

Chapter Management


	5. Chapter 5

"Ladybug, if you're out there listening...would you like to be my date to the concert?"

In Marinette's defense, she was not expecting to be asked on a date by a stranger-who-wasn't-completely-a-stranger that she may or may not have some confusing feelings for.

That's what she told herself to rationalize the screaming.

After around second five of the very long scream, she realized there was a choice to be made. She could either call in and meet this man in person and perhaps develop a friendship, or she could not call in, never meet this person, and regret it for the rest of her life.

Yeah, she was calling in. Just as soon as she could get her phone out of her pocket. Her hands were shaking and fumbling around as she called the number, and she prayed she didn't hit a wrong number.

The dial tone rang and she heard the phones connect. _Breathe. You're fine. It's just Chat Noir. You've handled him before. Breathe._

"Caller, you're on the air."

"Hey there, Nino. This bug couldn't miss a chance to call in. Of course I'm ecstatic about Jagged Stone- you know he's my favorite. And the favorite of anyone who's got any sense." Marinette shook her head, realizing how much like Queen Bee she sounded. "But, I also know that you don't care about that right now. Neither does your no-good girlfriend, who is probably going to be really pissed at me if I don't answer that catcall. So...Chat Noir. I accept."

She didn't wait to see if Nino or Alya responded. She hung up the phone, turned her kitchen radio off, and went to bed.  
_

"Hey, Nino. Normally I don't like meddling with affairs of the heart-"

"Ha! That's a lie. Why do I have a bad feeling about what's coming out of your mouth next?"

"Well...I was just thinking...maybe we could start making bets? I bet a dollar that Ladybug and Chat Noir will get together by the end of this year. What do you think?"

"Nah, they'll be together by the end of the concert. The cat's completely crazy about your bug. And he's charming. He'll make it happen that day."

"You're putting a lot of stock in the fact that whoever he is, he's pretty, aren't you?"

"I'm just saying it's true and it will help. If my heart and stomach did not already belong to you and your superb mac and cheese that did not come from a box, he would be a second choice on face alone. But he's a good person."

"You know Mari, though. She can't say a sentence to any guy she finds remotely attractive. After what happened a couple years ago, I'm surprised she accepted the date invitation so quickly. Get this, though- the other day, she was talking to some guy she saw at work, and she messed up saying hi to him. Only my girl," Alya said, shaking her head fondly as she recounted the conversation.

Her phone chimed with a text, from none other than Marinette.

 _I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating because I distinctly remember agreeing to a date with a guy I don't know tell me I didn't_

I can't do that, because you did lol want me to get his # from N? Then you can talk or whatever

 _No!_

Actually yes if you can that would be cool

On it!

"Give me his number. Give it to me right now so I can give it to Marinette."

"No, I promised I wouldn't give his number out to random girls!"

"She's not random, she's the love of his life. That's what he keeps telling you, anyway."

"Dude's so sickeningly sweet, I think he's already made a Spotify playlist for her."

"All the more reason. Give. Me. The. Number."

"Give me hers and I'll give it to him, okay? That way I don't break my promise and you still get what you want."

"...fine."  
_

 **Hey, how are you? This feels weird**

 _I'm sorry, who are you and how did you get this number?_

 **Your favorite black cat. Nino gave me your number, hope you don't mind.**

 _No, it's fine. What's weird about it?_

 **Not to get too personal but I don't really text often. I don't have a lot of close friends.**

 _Me neither. Maybe this will be good for us._

 **So...you agreed to go with me to the concert. I didn't think about it at the time, but how are we gonna recognize each other?**

 _Well...I guess maybe we wear something specific? That's how that works in movies, don't see why it wouldn't work here. We've got a couple weeks to get it figured out_  
_

 **This might sound weird but can I text you pictures and stuff during the day? I know we don't know each other but sometimes I see stuff or listen to music that I want to share with you**

 _Yeah! I would love that. And if I see anything I want to share, I'll do the same_

 **Purrfect, I love surprise messages**

 _The cat puns are killing me. Did I mention I'm allergic_

 **To cats? Oh the shame!**

 _No, to your bad cat puns_

 **You wound me, my Lady(bug)**

 _Every time you call me that, I picture you tipping a fedora_

 **Who's to say I'm not?**

 _I really really hope not, and that hope is going to have to see me through_  
_

 **Hey LB, I made a playlist for you on Spotify. Listen to it and try not to fall in love with me**

 _I'll try my best, Kitty_  
_

"Nino, it's been like a week and this is more serious than my last four relationships combined." Adrien sighed and ran a hand through his hair, throwing himself down on the couch.

He laughed at Adrien's dramatics. "I would say that's because you're a hopeless romantic. What do you even talk about?"

Adrien glanced around his apartment. What did they talk about? Any and everything...as long as it wasn't too revealing. He had reasons for not letting important information slip. Reasons like wanting whoever this girl is to like him for his personality, not for his face or family name. The amount of relationships Adrien had that did not fall into any of those categories is zero.

"We talk about random stuff. The weather, how our days are going-"

Nino interrupted with, "and you've probably told her you love her like thirty times."

"No!" he yelled out, a bit too loud. "But...I did share the playlist with her."

Nino groaned. "Dude. You're too pure of heart. You don't even know this girl. She could crush your heart and you'd let her."

Adrien smiled at his friend. "Well, good thing you do know her. And I trust your judgement. You've only been wrong about five things ever in the course of our friendship."

"Hey! You know for a fact that they were all accidents. Or...most were. That one time with the underwear? That was on purpose, and it was hilarious."

The two smiled at the memory. Friendship with Nino had been the best choice Adrien had ever made. But calling into the radio show and irritating Ladybug on a nightly basis might be the second.

Adrien's phone starting ringing and he didn't bother to check the caller ID before answering, "Hello, Father."

A short pause sounded before a female voice that was definitely not his father replied, "I don't think I remember having a son. And you can't call me dad, either."

Adrien fell off the couch. Nino laughed.

"Ladybug? Why did you- what- why did you call me?" he said, clambering his way back onto the sofa.

"I've had a really long, bad week, and all of my other friends weren't picking up their phones. I wanted to talk to someone on my walk to my car. It makes me feel safer," she explained. "Sorry to call so late."

"It's like...eight. It's not that late. And you can call anytime you need. Did you want to talk about your week, or…?"

She hesitated. "Well...actually, I wanted to tell you thank you. For the playlist you made? I've been listening to it while I do some hands-on work nobody else wants to do, and I really enjoyed it."

Adrien's cheeks pinked. It was unlike his Lady to say something complimentary towards him. Nino began pointing to his cheeks and silently mocking Adrien's red face, whispering things like, "Oh Ladybug, I love you! Marry me!" and doing that very middle-school thing of turning his torso around and pretending to make out with himself, running his hands up and down his side. Adrien starting kicking out a leg to shove him off the couch, while responding, "Oh- yeah. No- problem."

"Um, are you alright?" came the hesitant reply. "Did I call at a bad time? Oh my gosh I called at a bad time and you should probably just hang up on me and-"

"No, it's no problem. I'm kicking Nino off my couch for being a jerk. Literally kicking, with legs and everything. Oh, look, he's on the floor now. My work here is done." He was met with laughter on the other end.

"Thanks, Chaton. That's actually the funniest thing I've heard all day."

He grinned toothily and took a mock bow, even though she couldn't see it. "That's what I'm here for."

He heard the sound of a door opening on the other end of the line, and his bug started to talk, saying that she was at her car and she was going to hang up. He wondered what kind of car she drove. Something small, perhaps. Maybe gray? No, white.

In his dazed out state, he replied to her and was met with silence before she said, "Uh...okay. Yeahseeyoulaterbye!"

Nino was howling with laughter on the carpet, still rubbing his side where he had been knocked to the floor. "What?" Adrien's eyes narrowed as he stared at his friend. "What's so funny?"

"Dude," Nino choked out, rubbing tears out of his eyes and trying to suppress his giggles, "instead of saying bye like a normal person, you just told her you love her!"

Adrien froze, green eyes going wide. Well...shit.


	6. Chapter 6

Every time Adrien Agreste passed her desk at work, Marinette swore all of the lights in the room dimmed because he was the sun. Bright blonde hair, inquisitive green eyes, kind smile. Listing off Adrien's traits was the same as listing off Marinette's list of interests in a partner.

She knew it was a bit odd to be so infatuated with someone she doesn't know, but they **had** spoken before, so it wasn't unfounded.

And, if she wasn't mistaken, Adrien seemed to enjoy their brief conversations.

Marinette swore that it was probably because of every weird thing she seemed to say because she stopped functioning as a rational human being any time she saw him, but the enjoyment was still there.

His voice sounded so familiar, but she chalked that up to constantly running their conversations over and over in her head. Every single time, she swooned. She was very thankful that she had a chair.

But, she was also an adult. She understood that the Adoration of Adrien (as Alya called it) was just a crush. It wasn't something sustainable because she wouldn't ever be able to form coherent sentences. And it made her feel conflicted. With the realization that her crush on Adrien existed without her even knowing anything about him other than his pretty face and his contagious laugh, she was forced to reckon with the fact that she maybe-sort-of started developing a teeny-tiny crush on her mystery cat.

That much really wasn't apparent until he told her that he loved her over the phone.

When she called Alya to complain about it, the brunette only sighed and said,

"Maybe it was an accident, you know? Like when kids call their teachers Mom or something. It's just an end of a phone conversation reflex, girl. Chill."

Marinette wrung her hands worriedly as she laid prone on her couch, her voice carrying over the phone speaker's crackle, "But, Als, what if he meant it? Like really truly meant it? Now I'm too afraid to meet him because what if he's creepy or what if he thinks I'm creepy or what if he wants too much or what if he-"

"I'm going to stop you, because I'm not gonna play the what if game all night. Do you want to know what I think? I think you two would be perfect for each other. I think you're scared you might have a crush on him, as childish as that sounds. I think he brings you out of your shell. You never know, Mari, this guy could be closer than you think."

Marinette paused for a moment. "Do you know something I don't?"

"I know a lot of things you don't," came Alya's voice, smirk audible around the words. "I'm really clever that way. Like a fox."

"Or a bloodhound. Always sniffing around in other people's business."

"Just...get over your mental block here. You're awesome, you're cute as heck, and anyone would be lucky to have you- real sons of your boss or mystery radio men or anyone else."

Marinette smiled and told Alya she loved her optimism before hanging up for the night. Being confronted with having a crush is a terrifying feeling, and can show up in so many different ways.

She knew she was interested in Adrien. She saw him just that morning and their conversation did nothing to quell the admiration she had for him. (She couldn't remember and hoped she didn't say anything embarrassing). But realizing that Chat Noir had wormed his way into her mind enough to garner mild-crush status...that was news to her. They were strangers. Except- they weren't. They texted frequently, and sent each other fragments of their day; things they had overheard or photos that made them think of the other were sent. They were friends! But that dang cat was also such a flirt, and she encouraged the flirting by teasing him back! The banter was just so natural between them.

Her growing affections for the two showcased two different sides to her personality. Not only did she feel incredibly guilty for harboring two crushes on two separate people at once, but she also began doubting herself. Neither of the ways she presented herself to either Adrien or Chat felt like the real her. She sighed under the weight of the realization that she wasn't quite sure which parts of her radio persona were actually her.

Glancing around her living room, books scattered about and random items of discarded clothing strewn along the floor, she closed her eyes to ignore the problem for a bit. _It's like a metaphor for my life._  
_

"Adrien. Bro. When you get this message, you need to picture my disappointed look staring at you with a small frown. And then you need to call me back."

He laughed at the voicemail left not even ten minutes ago. Nino could be overly dramatic when he wanted to be. Packing up his bag from the day of teaching, shoving papers into the beat up brown messenger bag with his right hand while dialing Nino with the other, he made his way out of the empty classroom.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Why are you disappointed in me?"

"Why are you disappointing?"

"Touché." _Sounds like my father,_ Adrien thought.

"I'm disappointed because you mentioned you talked to that girl Marinette when you went to eat lunch with your dad, and yet you still won't ask her on a date."

"I see no reason to ask her on a date when I'm not interested in dating her."

"To get to know her? That's a good reason."

"My heart is devoted to whoever Ladybug is. You know that. We have a really good connection and I don't want to accidentally hurt someone else by having my heart be in another place. That's not fair to me or whoever I date. Marinette seems nice and all, but she's just not Ladybug."

The long silence on the other end was broken by Nino muttering something about how his life felt like a movie with an unnecessarily complicated plot, and that he might need to "rethink the bet," whatever that meant.

"You're not making any sense to me."

"For someone so beautiful and smart, you lack common sense. I will say no more. You still planning on meeting up with Ladybug at the concert?"

"Of course I am. It's going to be so great. I really think we'll hit it off. We're building something great that will change the world. Or, at least, our worlds. Forever," he trailed off wistfully.

"You've got it bad. I really hope this all works out- for you, and your bug. Listen, I gotta eat dinner and then head up to the station, but I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, see ya."  
_

There was a week before the concert, and Nino and Alya were at their wits' end with their friends. The dancing around each other was infuriating, especially for a busybody like Alya.

Sitting in a diner, sharing a large plate of fries before Nino had to broadcast, the two talked about their wants to end the square of stupidity they were now both helplessly tangled in as their respective best friends kept coming so close- yet, so far- to the person of their dreams.

"I just want it to end so I can stop listening to phone calls about how cute Adrien is. Like, I get it, he's a model. They're always cute. And then having to point out to a grown woman she's got a crush on her radio lover? It's ridiculous!" Alya grumbled, grabbing three fries and shoving them in her mouth. Potato products solved a lot of her problems.

"I want to tell. Can we please tell? Because you start nearly foaming at the mouth every time you get a call from her, and if I have to hear how devoted he is to his "spotted lady love" that he won't bother asking out the cute girl at his dad's work, I am going to shake sense into him. I don't know how much longer I can do this, babe."

"We've got a week until the concert. Hopefully it lasts that long and no more. Mostly so I win the prize money, but also because I'm very done with them."

Nino grabbed a fry and popped it in his mouth, before offering the final few to his girlfriend. If they could survive the hurricane of bad that their friends were bound to bring because of their own stubbornness and blind obliviousness, they could survive anything.


	7. Chapter 7

The day he had waited for had arrived. It was time for the concert. Jagged Stone and his crocodile pet, Fang, had been brought in a limo to the location and he was busy primping and preening in a dressing room, gently crooning to himself.

Nino's booth had been set up with advertisements done by none other than the Illustrator, whom he would hopefully get the pleasure of meeting today. There were small radio station prizes and games. He even had name tags for all of listeners made out, just in case they wanted to advertise themselves. He was prepared as prepared could be.

What he had not prepared for was Adrien.

Oh, sure, he knew his friend was coming. He knew he planned to meet up with Ladybug, and Nino was really hoping Alya would catch it on video like she had planned. She had scouted the park and found several places to hide- be it behind bushes or benches or trees, Alya had a spot covered. But Adrien refused to tell Nino where they would meet. And Marinette was equally as hush-hush about it. He prayed for a miracle. If anyone could make radio romance into real love happen, it was those two.

Marinette fiddled with her hair in the mirror. Somehow, even though she had never met Chat Noir in person, she wanted something more than what she normally did with her hair. She looked at her expression and felt trepidation seep through her. What if she wasn't good enough for her friend? She really only had Alya and Nino, her cat, and her parents.

Chat had worked his way into her life, crash landing, and she had Nino to thank for that- but, if she were to lose this friend over how disappointing she was in real life, she wasn't sure how she would take it.

Grabbing her curling iron and parting her hair, she began to get to work. Her cat Tikki wove her way through her thin legs, nearly knocking her over and causing her to burn the tip of her ear. That was going to sting. She sidestepped her cat, and continued making ringlets around her head. Once finished, she brushed out the tight curls into short cascading waves, landing at her shoulders. She clipped her bangs to the side with a red barrette, a subtle nod to her Ladybug identity.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had talked again on the phone, every night for the past few. They joked and laughed and flirted and it made Marinette feel like she was part of something. How crazy was it that calling into Nino's show as a favor to Alya turned into her being part of some radio community that people loved? It made her feel like a minor celebrity.

They agreed to meet at the concert. They didn't want to decide on a specific place, rather they would both wear a small article of clothing that would represent their personalities- a red barrette for the Ladybug, and a black bracelet for the black cat. If fate wanted them to be together as much as Alya and Nino wanted them to be, they would find their other half.

She traipsed back into her room, padding over to her closet where she had her attire hanging, just waiting to be put on.

She pulled the comfortable high-waisted denim shorts on, and the pink top on, and accented her outfit with a pair of black hi-tops. She felt powerful and ready.

Marinette gave herself a final look-over in the mirror and nodded. It was time to meet her black cat.

She tried texting him to let him know she was coming, but he hadn't responded, and then she was driving and couldn't safely check her phone every few minutes like she wanted to. She hoped he showed up.

Fishing her phone out of her pocket as she arrived, she tried dialing Chat Noir. His phone went straight to voicemail. She hung up. She really hoped he was there and maybe...maybe he was busy, so he wasn't checking his phone. Yeah. That was it.

She didn't know why she felt like today was the day to approach him, but there he was in the crowded park- a blonde head she would know anywhere as her boss' son and frequent conversational partner.

Marinette deftly made her way through the crowd, using her small stature and pointy elbows to make it quickly through the crowd. She sidled up to his side and took a deep breath before tapping his shoulder. "Adrien Agreste, what are you doing here?"

He whipped around, a bit startled. "Ah! Marinette, hey! What are you doing here?"

"I was just here for Jagged Stone. He's my favorite artist."

"That's pretty neat, me too," he said without making eye contact, bright green eyes scanning the crowd.

Marinette turned, trying to see what he was seeing but finding nothing. "Um...are you looking for something?"

He sighed. "More like someone." He sounded so dejected, but he never stopped glancing around.

"Well, maybe they'll show up later. If you're not here with anyone maybe, um, we could- well, that is, if you want to, but we could maybe hang out? Together?" She cringed as she felt the word-vomit tumble out of her mouth, eyes crinkling in worry.

His gaze landed on her eyes, but he was looking without seeing. "I'm waiting for someone to show up, and I really don't want to make plans with someone else."

"We could hang out until they get here? And then we don't have to anymore."

"Marinette, I already told you I'm waiting for someone important, and you're not her. Can you just not bother me right now?"

Marinette deflated, shoulders slumping after her previous bravery at his cold words. She could swear she saw something akin to regret in Adrien's eyes, but then it occurred to her that maybe she didn't even know what that looked like on him. They were acquaintances at best, no matter how much she had dreamed of more. That somehow hurt more than his blunt rejection. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't give him the chance. "Yeah. Okay. I'll see you around."

Marinette walked away as quickly as she came. She hoped she had turned fast enough that he didn't see the first tears streaming themselves out of her eyes.

First, Chat Noir doesn't show, then Adrien acted like a jerk. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.

She pulled out her phone once again to check for Chat. Still no word from him. She dialed and listened to the ringing, and the robotic voicemail tone answered, so she left a message.

And another one.

And another one.

And she couldn't find Alya anywhere. She took to wandering around, voicemails to Chat going from worried to hurt to defeated. The tears wouldn't stop coming.

She was right. He knew she would be such a disappointment that he didn't bother to show, and didn't even have the decency to tell her.

Lost and stumbling through the crowd with blurred vision, she ran into someone and they grabbed her elbow. "Mari? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

She glanced up and saw the black glasses frames and cute forehead mole that belonged to her best friend, and she collapsed in her arms, finally in a safe place. "Alya...he...he never showed up. Chat Noir isn't here and then Adrien was rude to me and I just want to go home and-"

Alya paused. "What do you mean?"

Marinette hiccuped and tried to brush away some of the tears. "He won't answer his phone and it keeps going to voicemail. I'm not even worth it to him," her voice broke once more. "I thought we were friends. I thought...I dunno. I thought maybe we could be more. But I obviously don't mean anything to him. Als, I just wanna go home."

Her best friend nodded. "I'll get you home." Marinette noticed the quietly seething anger. "And then I'm going to have a talk with my dear boyfriend."

When Alya carried that look on her face, everyone knew to beware. Marinette was thankful that it wasn't directed at her this time.

Adrien hadn't had any luck all night. He supposed his black cat moniker was fitting. He had wandered around, said hello to Nino and a few others he recognized, and tried to avoid any students of his that he saw.

He had been standing back by Nino's booth, watching people check in and finally seeing faces to match up with people he's only ever heard speak. His main reason for standing by the booth was in the small hope that Ladybug would check in. They had said they wouldn't, but maybe she would, and it would be fate that they would meet in the one place they said they wouldn't.

He _might_ be overthinking this.

But he had to make a good impression in person.

He saw Cupid and Timebreaker meet up- they were apparently rivals on different track teams back in their school days, is what he gathered from eavesdropping.

Queen Bee turned out to be none other than Chloé Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter and childhood friend of Adrien's. No wonder she had no issue getting Jagged Stone to play for a small college station. She was a force to be reckoned with.

She was speaking to a lithe, shy redheaded man, twirling her hands in large gestures and pointed statements. He seemed both intimidated and intrigued with her, and when he spotted a drawing pad in his arms, Adrien deduced him to be the Illustrator. Huh. Odd pairing, but he hoped whatever they had going on worked out.

The Gamer showed up, a short man with glasses who looked like he was smarter than anyone in the nearby vicinity, followed shortly by two girls- one with short blonde hair, and one with long black hair and purple streaks. From the monotone voice, he could deduce the purple-haired girl was Rose, but the blonde was also Rose. He was confused, but it seemed to be an inside joke. Whatever. They weren't his lady, that was for sure. He would recognize her anywhere.

But she was nowhere to be found. And it made him irritable. Their interactions were the highlight of his life for months now, and he couldn't even find her? Fate was playing a cruel joke on him.

Which is why, when kind, intern Marinette approached him, he was callous and rude to her. He wasn't fully aware of what he said because he was busy looking for Ladybug. Any female that passed, he was looking for a red hair clip. His black bracelet sat proudly on his left wrist, waiting to be noticed. No one even bothered to look. He thinks he told her she wasn't important, and Adrien immediately regretted it. Those were words that would come from his father, not him. Before he could apologize, though, the girl was gone. He would have to find her again to make it up to her.

Maybe he could ask her on a date if this whole Ladybug thing didn't pan out? No. Have faith. It will.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and tried to power it on. All his phone did was flash a red battery sign at him. Crap. Plagg must've knocked his phone off the charger when Adrien took his afternoon nap, and he didn't bother to check its charge before rushing to get to the concert on time.

Adrien walked back to Nino's booth. If anyone would have a spare phone charger, it was the DJ. He was currently kicked back in the metal fold-up chair, sneakers on the desk and legs crossed.

Adrien observed that the only name tags left on the desk were the ones belonging to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Hey, Nino, my phone's dead. Can I borrow your charger?"

Nino nodded and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Got one back here. Come on over and charge."

Adrien walked behind the booth and pulled Nino's orange duffel bag off the ground, rooting through it until he found a charger. _Now to find an outlet._

Plugging the charger into the outlet and then into his phone, his screen came to life. His phone started vibrating like crazy in his hand, missed texts and calls coming in one after the other. All from Ladybug.

 _Hey CN! Leaving my house now, can't wait!_

 _I know we agreed no name tags but are you here? Haven't heard from you today!_

 _Chat? I hope you're here. Text me._

 _Five missed calls from Ladybug._

 _Four voicemails from Ladybug._

Oh no. He pressed play on the first.

 _Hey, Chat. It's me, Ladybug. Obviously. Just calling to let you know that I'm here and I can't wait to meet you. Come find me! It'll be a game- whoever finds the other first wins and gets bragging rights and has to buy the other a drink. Game on!_

Next voicemail.

 _Chat? I hope that you're okay and nothing bad happened. Just let me know. I'm worried about you._

 _Hey. It's me. If you didn't want to come, you could've just said instead of ignoring me. I would've taken it lightly. But, after all, you were the one flirting. I think I had the most to lose. I'm mad at you, I think. But I'm sure we can fix this, right?_

She sounded mad, but upset. He didn't want to open the next voicemail, but he knew he had to press play. When he heard her thick voice laden with tears, he visibly paled.

 _Chat Noir. It was not nice of you to treat me this way- making my life fun and exciting and then not showing up. Not that it's any of your business but I tried talking to this guy I like, and he was rude to me, told me I wasn't important. And you didn't show up either. You showed me I was unimportant. I guess fate didn't want us together after all. You really are as unlucky as a black cat, because you've lost me. I never want to talk to you again._

He could hear her crying. The sound broke his heart. He didn't mean to, but he unintentionally ruined any chance he had with her. He felt his heart starting to shatter. Stupid dumb romantic heart of his.

Adrien placed his phone on the table and, over his shoulder to Nino, said, "I did something really stupid. I think I need your help."

Hearing nothing but yelling and crowd noise, he was forced to turn around to try and garner sympathy and help another way. What he saw made him gasp in surprise.

There was a woman that had a fist in Nino's shirt, pulling him halfway across the booth's front table, eyes wide and angry. "You tell me where that cat is, and you tell me now, Nino Lahiffe. Nobody makes my best friend cry and get away with it."

Nino's eyes swung wildly to Adrien. He managed a sheepish smile and wave- something Adrien would not have dared had he been in that position. "So, Adrien, this is my girlfriend. And you better run."


	8. Chapter 8

"So, Adrien, this is my girlfriend. And you better run."

The blond glanced at the wild-eyed, dark haired woman holding his best friend across the table and audibly gulped. She was seething.

"You mean to tell me that all this time, Adrien-freaking-Agreste was the black cat to my best friend's Ladybug? You didn't think that was pertinent information, Nino? Huh?" Nino nervously fidgeted with his glasses, righting them on his nose as he shrugged his shoulders defensively.

"Babe, you know I told you he asked me to keep it a secret, because of his dad and everything."

"I don't care that he's got a perfect face, I will punch him directly in his nose." She seemed ready to deliver on that threat, what with the way she was still keeping Nino hostage.

"Hang on- you're best friends with Ladybug? Is she here?" Adrien interrupted, glancing around in the hope that he could potentially apologize for his dead phone. It was all a huge misunderstanding, and they could get through this- he hoped.

"Not anymore, because you-" this was punctuated with a finger pointed directly in Adrien's face, "told her she was unimportant. She went home, crying, and it's because of you as Adrien and as you as Chat Noir!"

"When would I have ever called her unimportant? I didn't talk to any…" he trailed off as he thought over his night. Like a light coming on behind his eyes, Alya saw the moment he realized. "Oh. Wait...M-Marinette? She's Ladybug? Like, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette?"

Alya deflated and let go of Nino's shirt. He tried to brush out the wrinkled front to no avail as she explained. "Yeah. How many people named Marinette do you know?" Alya had a point. "She is Ladybug. Or- was. She came to me crying, saying Chat Noir wouldn't pick up the phone and had been ignoring her. And then she went to talk to you, and you were a jerk to her. I don't think she's picking up that moniker anytime soon. I'd laugh at the absurdity of the situation if things weren't so messed up right now. I mean, how messed up is that? You're into her as Ladybug, she's into you as Adrien-you, and...oh. I wasn't supposed to say that."

Adrien sat still for a moment, head turned down. Marinette, the really kind and shy-but-cute woman he chatted with when he went to lunch with his father, was the same person that he had been boldly flirting with-and been rebuffed by- every day of the week.

But the more he thought, the more he wondered why he never recognized it. They both had the same sense of humor. And how did he not recognize her voice? Either of them? Er- her? He talked to her every day, as Adrien and Chat Noir. Alya's voice broke him out of his reverie. "For someone who's so book smart, you sure are acting stupid right now."

He shook his head, lost. "But...what do I do? I don't know how to fix this!" He threw his hands up in the air. Nino's booth was steadily attracting more attention from all the yelling. There was a pink haired girl Adrien remembered as the Timebreaker recording everything on her phone, but he was too worried to deal with that. "I mean, I fall in love with this amazing woman over the radio because she's smart, and funny, and sassy, and then somehow I mess it all up by telling the real her that I didn't want to talk because I was waiting for...her? They don't exactly make a Hallmark card for that!"

The brunette strode over to the physics teacher and smacked him in the head. He let out a soft "Ow" as she berated him. "You messed this up. What kind of a person doesn't charge their phone? This was supposed to be romantic and a lot of us had a bet going that you guys would get together. Now, all of that is ruined. So, here's what the three of us are going to do. Step one: I am going to go comfort my best friend after I deal with you two. Step two: you will have to contact her. I suggest in a grand, sweeping romantic gesture because you seem like a giant softie and she'll appreciate the gesture. You may not be romantically together yet, but it'll happen as long as you don't royally screw this up. You WILL apologize to her, because what you said was rude. You WILL make this up to her, in some fashion. And step three: we all live happily ever after."

Adrien nodded along to her list, blindly trusting this rage-filled woman on a mission."Not to be rude, but...you didn't exactly tell me to do anything I wasn't already planning on doing."

"I don't care. This isn't my mess up, so I don't feel like I need to fix everything. You're supposed to be smart, although I'm having some doubts about that now," she whispered the final part, not quietly enough. "But! You will need my help with it. Because whatever this is does not get fixed unless I go work my magic." She whirled on a heel, but turned around to shoot the men a harsh look. "Nino Lahiffe, you owe me so much. And Agreste, know that if you manage to mess this up further, I will not hesitate to be a thorn in your side. I hope this works, for all of our sakes."

Nino and Adrien both shut their slightly gaping mouths as they turned to each other with equally helpless looks in their eyes. "So...that was Alya?"

Marinette heard a rapping at her door, and she shuffled to open it, her bunny slippers scraping pitifully against the floor as she rubbed at her eyes. They were puffy and swollen from crying. Alya had called her and explained that she met the real Chat Noir after Marinette left- she wouldn't tell Marinette who it was, only that they had met- and that his phone had died, which honestly left her feeling a little silly.

She felt lonely and scared, and the only thing that had happened was that his phone died. But she also didn't feel remorseful for what she said. Maybe, if he had cared enough, he would've let her know before his phone died. Maybe, if he had cared enough, he would've charged his phone. Maybe-

No.

Thinking like that never did her any good. She had to accept what she had said and move forward. Did she forgive Chat Noir? Not entirely, but she also wasn't as mad as she had been before.

Her hand reached the doorknob, and she pulled the door open, turning her back on it as she said, "Alya, honestly, I'm fine, you didn't have to come over here."

A male voice that was DEFINITELY not-Alya replied, "I'm not Alya, but she did send me." Marinette jumped at the sound of a deep voice that did not belong to her best friend, and she whirled around with her hands in a defensive, karate-like stance.

Instead of the masked assassin her brain told her this unidentified person was, she was greeted with a very large bouquet of red roses. Her eyes followed the roses to the hands they were held in, up the arms, and into the face of Adrien Agreste. Marinette squeaked in a very undignified manner, and tried to shuffle around to make her appearance more presentable, patting her hair and trying to smooth the flyaways back down into a pigtail-esque appearance.

"Adrien! Um- what..I mean-what, uh, why are you here? How do you know where I live? Wait, you said Alya. Why would Alya send you? How do you even know her- I...what is going on here?" she breathed out.

He fidgeted nervously, the ring on his right hand glinting in the apartment lights as he lifted his arm up to scratch the back of his neck, as he extended the bouquet toward her with his other hand. "Well, Marinette, uh, I'm Chat Noir. And I'm here to say sorry."


	9. Chapter 9

has stopped responding. Her brain short-circuited as she tried to reconcile everything about Chat Noir and Adrien in a time span of three seconds. When it finally caught up to who he was and how he had made her feel only hours before, she followed with a gut reaction. She slammed the door in his face.

Rushing back to her couch, she picked up her phone and immediately dialed Alya. The phone rang only twice before she heard it connect, and she didn't even wait for Alya to say hi.

"Alya, why did you send Adrien to my house? How did you know he was Chat Noir?"

"I didn't know until tonight. I made Nino tell me through some...rather unorthodox means, and then I yelled at them both. I think Alix from high school has a video of it, she's probably already put it on Facebook."

"But if he's Chat Noir, why did you send him here? I don't want to see him!"

"I'm going to be honest- I didn't think he would try and apologize tonight. Did he do something that seems like it belongs in a 1980s rom-com? That was my advice."

"He just showed up at my door with a giant bouquet of roses, and tells me he's Chat Noir!"

"So, what did you do?"

"Well...I...freaked out and slammed the door in his face?"

"Marinette!...I'm so proud. How do you feel about that, though? I know that being mean doesn't come naturally to you."

"I can be mean! I just was! I don't know if he left or if he's still in the hall."

"Hang up on me and go check. I'm not saying you need to forgive him, because you don't and that's your choice and I will support you no matter what. But, also, notice the effort this person is putting in to apologize to you when they didn't even realize they had done something wrong in the first place."

"Alright, fine...thank you, Als."

Marinette hung up her phone and crept back to her front door, slowly opening it and peeking her head out into the hall. Glancing to the right, she noticed Adrien was still there. He was sitting on the floor, head leaned back against the wall with a pained look on his face, the roses placed on the floor next to him. He opened one eye as he heard the door open, and immediately sat up straighter when he saw Marinette looking at him, scrambling to his feet.

Marinette held a hand out to stop Adrien as she saw him open his mouth to speak. He closed it and paused, inclining his head as if to say, go on.

"I'm not ready to forgive you. Not tonight, and...maybe not for a while." Marinette took another breath to steel herself, words coming out with more force and power as she processed. "So, here is what I ask of you: let me have tonight to stew and think things 've become too important of a fixture in my life as Chat, and I'm not ready to lose that. But I need time to be angry. Tomorrow, let's meet for coffee around 3, at the Starbucks just a block from here. We can sit, you can talk. I just need space."

Adrien nodded in agreement to her plan, unsure if he should say anything else. He was okay with that. He didn't feel like he would have been able to coherently say what he needed to say at the moment either, and he was thankful for the time it gave him to think everything over- even if it also gave him more time to be anxious. He turned slowly to leave, nervously brushing his hands over his jeans to dust off invisible lint.

He bent down to pick up the apology bouquet and held it close to his chest, as if it was his lifeline, but he seemed to think better of it, and turned back to Marinette once more. They were for her, after all. He strode back to where she stood in the doorway of her apartment, and offered them to her. Her hand reached out to take them from him, and internally he smiled. There was hope yet if she was willing to accept his gift. Their fingers brushed as the flowers switched possession, and he said, "Keep them. They match your pajamas, Ladybug."

Marinette felt her face heating as she pulled the flowers close to her, cognisant of her spotted pajamas that matched her moniker. "Good night, Adrien." His hands dropped as he stepped away with a small wave.

She closed the door once more, placing her back on the door and sliding to the floor, burying her still-red face in the fragrant flowers. Of course he would bring roses. What a romantic.

She was still upset and was already mentally plotting all the ways the conversation would go tomorrow, but for that moment, she wanted to pretend she was a girl without all the stress of the situation  
Marinette opened her eyes, being confronted face to face with the soft petals of the roses and eyes alighting on a ladybug crawling on one of the stems. It felt like the universe was conspiring against her- or, maybe, for them.

Whatever happened tomorrow, she blamed Nino.

The gentle atmosphere of the Starbucks didn't do much to quell Adrien's nerves. He had built everything up between himself and his lady in his mind, and it's been quickly crumbling to pieces. To say he was anxious was an understatement.

He and Marinette had greeted each other with some tension, and he had taken it upon himself to order after she had found a table. Her pink tank top accented with white polka dots had been donned to lend her some of the bravery that she felt behind the spots of Ladybug. Adrien had also brought part of his alter ego with him as well, wearing a black ring that had a paw print on it.

He was still up waiting for his drink at the counter, rather than sitting down. He heard the barisa yell out his order, and he grabbed his drink, thanking them as he braced himself to walk to the table where she sat.

After waiting for him to pull his chair out and get settled, Marinette began. "So, Adrien, a whole host of crazy happened last night. I think I've done most of the talking so far, and that's not entirely fair to you. You can go first."

He mentally noted that her longtime stutter around him seemed to be gone, and he wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not for that change. "Well, a lot of this got messed up all because my cat knocked my phone off the charger. He's kind of a jerk- if you ever meet him, feel free to lecture him all you want about it. But it's my fault that I didn't check. I was in such a rush to get to the concert that I didn't even think to look. I was just excited to meet...you."

Marinette shook her head. "Not me. You made it very clear you didn't want to see me. You wanted to see Ladybug."

"I'm sorry. I really am. What I said was completely rude and inexcusable. It's never okay to tell someone they're unimportant."

"No, it's not. Words mean things, Adrien. Whether or not you meant it, it's what came out of your mouth, and people have to take you for what you say, not what you mean. And what you said hurt me."

"I know. And no amount of apologizing will make that better, because you won't forgive me. I understand that. But I'm prepared to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to earn that forgiveness from you. I meant it when I told Ladybug that I loved her, even if I didn't quite mean to say it like that or when I did. She- I mean, you, have become so important to me. You're the first person I think of in the morning and the last person I think of at night. I see things and think of you. I hear things and think of you."

Marinette was already shaking her head before he finished speaking. "You love the idea of me, Adrien. Ladybug isn't really me."

He asserted, "She is, too! Ladybug is every bit of you as Chat Noir is of me. When you talk to me as Adrien, I'm a nice, unassuming kind of guy. The trope of being a boring, safe, boy-next-door was practically invented for me. When I can be Chat, I get to make lame jokes and flirt and do things I can't do when people know me for my reputation or my father or my money. I'm still that same person, you just get to see more of me than most people do. The Marinette I talk to at the fashion company is sweet, and quiet, and driven- she's got amazing work ethic and always has a smile for everyone. Ladybug is funny and bossy and can tease like nobody's business, and she's always so passionate about everything, even if it is something as silly as a type of mango-"

"It's not silly, that really does have merit-"

"My point being, Ladybug isn't someone separate from you. She's you when you don't have to be the Marinette everyone else knows and expects something from. I was excited to have someone who cared about me as a friend that wasn't after me for my money or because they already knew I was attractive. And I was hoping that whoever Ladybug turned out to be, she wouldn't care that I was all of those things. I looked you over because I was already falling for you."

"I did the same. I kept turning Chat down because I...well...I have a bit of a crush on you. Adrien you."

His eyes widened marginally. And then he began full-belly laughing, which prompted Marinette to devolve into giggles of her own. They were drawing some looks, but the laughter wouldn't stop. After what seemed like several minutes, they began calming down, wiping the tears from their eyes.

Marinette was still giggling as she said, "I can't believe we were such idiots. We kept turning the other person down, only to have a chance with the same person."

Adrien was red from the laughter that had rendered him breathless, and across his face spread a devious looking smirk that she had yet to see from him. "I'd like to think of this as a positive- I've gotten you to like me twice, now. I'm very likable."

Marinette let out an undignified snort and crossed her arms. "Who says I like you?"

His face dropped, slightly, and he shrugged. "Well...no one. But I'm hopeful."

"Of course I like you, kitty." She leaned over and booped him on the nose. He wrinkled his nose at the touch and crossed his eyes to follow her finger, which only made her start laughing again at his silly expression.

Adrien almost breathed out a sigh of relief at her words. It seemed that, though he hadn't been forgiven yet, he was going to be allowed a chance to earn that from her. He could be happy with those results. He stuck out a hand to her across their table, garnering a confused look from the bluenette across from him. She grabbed his hand in a handshake, and he said, "Hello there, little lady. My name is Adrien. I teach physics, I love Jagged Stone, and my best friend has a crazy girlfriend."

Her confused look changed into a slowly-growing smile as she replied, "Hi, Adrien. My name is Marinette. I'm a fashion intern at Gabriel, I also love Jagged Stone, and your opinion on mangoes is wrong."

The air was officially cleared. They sat around the coffee shop for a few hours, learning new things and bantering and discussing old texts they had sent. Once the incident had been discussed, the pair seemed to relax into an already-familiar state of being. Adrien glanced at his phone and noticed the time. He had papers to grade before class the next day, and told Marinette as much. She understood, and she gathered up her purse from the table, sliding the strap over her head.

Before they parted at the door, Adrien turned to an older couple seated by the window and offered his phone. "Excuse me, but could you take a photo of us?"

Marinette turned to him and asked why.

His hand went behind his neck to rub sheepishly. "I have one of those feelings that this is a special moment, and I want to have a picture of it."

The couple smiled, and they both replied, "We would love to, young man."

And as Adrien slung his arm around Marinette's shoulders and felt her arm slide around his waist, he felt right. He felt like he belonged.

They handed his phone back, and he smiled widely at the photo. Their smiles were genuinely happy, and he immediately set it as his lock screen after forwarding it onto Marinette. Part of him wanted to get it printed so he could hang it up in his room. This would be a memory he wouldn't soon forget, nor did he ever want to.

Maybe black cats weren't so unlucky, after all.

He would have to thank Nino.


	10. Chapter 10

"Alya...I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe we're doing this!"

"Chillax, Marinette! And stop movin' around or you're going to get burnt by the curling iron."

Marinette stopped fidgeting in her chair, and smoothed out her dress over her knees. The deep burgundy material contrasted well with her pale skin, and the simple black heels Alya had picked for her complimented it well.

"You're not crazy, you know. You guys have been good friends for months, now, and the flirting has been insane. And that's coming from me."

Marinette groaned. "Don't remind me of Ninofest 2016. That was one of the most painful summers of my life. Thank every deity known to mankind that you got together and stopped doing whatever gross thing you called flirting."

"Mari, honey, this is worse. And I'm done with your hair, so you can move. But...you sit on the couch and he lays across you. You make playlists for each other. He calls you every day when he gets off work just to complain about students. He goes to your house for flippin' family game night, and I think your parents invited him on summer vacation. Face it," she said smugly, "Adrien's your boyfriend and you've been to oblivious to realize it."

Marinette stared,dumbfounded, at her reflection in her mirror. Had she really been that oblivious? Sure, they hung out almost every day. And they did couple-y things, she guessed. But tonight was the apex of all of those months after the concert- she had agreed to go on a date with him.

And if you had told her months ago, that Adrien Agreste would be asking her on a date, she would've laughed in your face and then journaled about it for an hour. But, life gave Marinette what she was looking for, just when she had stopped looking.

Her phone lit up with a text and she felt the nerves in her stomach spark up again.

 **I'm here!**

Alya smiled at her friend, nodding appreciatively at her appearance. "Knock him dead, Bug."

At the nickname, Marinette shrugged her shoulders back- her newly curled hair bouncing gently against them- and stride out of her house with confidence. _

If you need surveillance done, you go to Alya Césaire. Unless you are Alya. Then, you drag yourself and your boyfriend to hide behind potted plants across the street from where your best friends are on their first date.

"Babe, can we at least eat? I'm starving." Nino's stomach growled at that moment, to validate his statement.

Alya waved a dismissive hand back at Nino, the other hand clutching her Vortex Viper binoculars as she spied on the couple.

Adrien, in his hunter green dress shirt looked absolutely dashing, she had to admit. And sitting next to Marinette, her burgundy quite the compliment to his green, they looked like a pair dressed to kill. They could be well dressed spies or undercover superheroes instead of a physics professor and a fashion designer.

Damn their beautiful genetics. They would have amazing babies.

"At least tell me what's happening. I don't have binoculars because I'm not a stalker like you."

"They're just talking. I dunno, it looks as cute and disgusting as normal, except now they're both being shy. Their meal is almost finished, so hopefully they go home soon. My butt is cramping from this position."

"You know that you're the only one keeping you there, right, Als?"

"Hush, you. We put a lot of work into this couple, and they're going to come out happy, dang it."

She shuffled around for a second before handing Nino the binoculars, hand fishing into her pocket for her phone. She turned the camera on and zoomed until she got them both in frame, and waited. Adrien said something funny, probably a cat joke, and it made Marinette laugh.

Alya snapped a photo as her head leaned back with laughter and Adrien was beaming with pride over making her laugh. It was a good photo, if Alya did say so herself. And she did.

"Nino, when they get engaged, they're getting a scrapbook of all the photos we've taken when they're not looking. But I'm buying them a whole canvas to hang up in their house of this photo. I mean, they look like movie stars!"

Nino laughed. "Babe, I don't care what you do for them, as long as you don't slap my name on the card. I want no affiliation to the stalking business."

"Yet, here you are on a Friday night, stalking them with me."

"...I didn't have anything better to do." Nino put the binoculars up to his eyes to end that line of conversation, glasses smashing against his face as he squinted to see. "Hey, they're leaving. How much you wanna bet they kiss?"

She snorted. "I'm not betting anything because Agreste is a romantic. I mean, do you see how swanky this place is?" She gestured around wildly. "It's ridiculous for a first date, even if she's totally his future wife."

He patted her head fondly. "Yeah, I took my future wife to the produce market because she wanted to write an exposé on pesticides." Alya grinned. "And now look at us, we're on a date following our friends on a date so you can write a story on them."

"My blog has had so many hits on their story. It's even been shared on Buzzfeed, so I'm basically famous. 'Ladybug and Chat Noir: Tales of a Radio Romance.' Who knows, maybe I'll write a book."

She smacked Nino's shoulder and pointed, her hand peeking through the bushes. "Look!"

Adrien had walked Marinette to the car and smoothed a few flyaways behind her ear. His hand made a slow path across her jaw and her eyes widened before fluttering shut, just as he began leaning down. Alya scrambled to unlock her phone to capture the moment, as he pressed his lips softly against hers.

Alya felt like bursting out into laughter would be a little cruel, but watching her best friend make out with the man of her dreams under a streetlight in formal clothing after inadvertently falling in love with each other on her boyfriend's radio show was just too much.

To keep herself from feeling like a voyeur, she turned to Nino and stuck her hand out, palm up.

"Pay up, Lahiffe. You said after the concert, I said in the next year. You had too much faith in your bubble-headed blonde."

Nino grumbled and fished a crumpled dollar out of his wallet. He begrudgingly placed it in his girlfriend's outstretched palm.

Her hand immediately closed around the currency, and she grinned before pecking him on the cheek. The movement made his cheeks pink, and he responded with a small smile. Losing to Alya wasn't the worst, he conceded.

A devious look flashed through her eyes. "Wanna make another bet?"

He eyed her warily, hands coming to fidget with the headphones around his neck. "On what?"

"How long it's going to take Chloé and Nathanael to hook up. I'm thinking by the end of the night."

"You sound too smug about that. Why would I take that bet?"

"You shouldn't. She posted some aesthetic-looking photo of her face covered in paint and then another photo of Nath's lips covered in the same stuff. It doesn't take Alya Césaire, reporter extraordinaire, to figure that out."  
_

Marinette thumbed through the scrapbook Alya had reverently placed in her hands. The pages were littered with photos she had sneakily taken of the couple over the years.

Photos from hangouts at Nino's apartment, from moving Nino and Alya in together, from that spring break trip they had taken, dancing at Nino and Alya's wedding (which prompted the question, "How did you even get this photo? Your dress didn't have pockets and you didn't have your phone!" "A good reporter never shares her secrets.) And even a few taken from the couple's social media accounts.

"That's from me, to you. And Adrien of course. Nino's giving Adrien his now. You guys can share and cry about it later, but I thought that night before the wedding, you deserved to cry with your best friend."

Marinette smiled. "I love you so much. Thank you for being my best friend."  
_

Adrien pulled the headphones off his ears, tears tracking down his face.

"Nino, how'd you even get these?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't hard. Just made a couple calls and they were happy to do it for me. The kid who gave them to me told me I'm basically a legend around their parts because I hold the record for listener-ship. Now, I'm gonna go into another room so you can have those to yourself."

Adrien smiled and wiped the tears off from his face. "Come here." The two embraced, and Adrien patted Nino's back. "Thank you for everything you've done. You're the best man anyone could ever hope for."

"Well, I'm your best man. Literally. Tomorrow. Prepare for a kick-butt speech."

Adrien smiled and let go. "I don't doubt it. Go to your room and get some rest. It's a little ridiculous that we can't be together the night before," he grumbled.

"Dude...you've got the rest of your lives."

Nino shut the guest room door as he left, and Adrien shook his head. How did he ever get so lucky?

Grabbing the headphones from the desk where he left them, he placed one in each ear and pressed play. There was a brief staticky intro, and then he heard it.

"Caller, you're on the air."


End file.
